Consider the following: I try counting calories … that lasts for a week, tops. I sign up (it’ll motivate me this time!) for a gym membership … for a month, maybe. I could even possibly get close to superhuman, like Tim Ferris, if I followed his book. It’s deep. Effective. Tested. And I could work it! Yeah, for about … four hours. (Sorry Tim, no offense. I’m just way-out-of-your-league-lame, dude.) And in a earlier post on time management, there too, I show how I gotta make it easy.

Is discipline an issue? Ya think??

But, I feel that I’m also coming around to some degree of acceptance of how I work. I’m thinking that that’s another blog post.

I may not exercise as effectively as some. Nor do I dig deep into layers of time management (I think you’ve gotten the idea that I’m not the FranklinCovey type).

Okay, so, concerning groceries, there’s those amazing coupon bloggers like Saving Cents with Sense or Desert Deals Diva or Mom Endeavors or many more where they routinely, somehow, make money by buying groceries requires a level of multi-tasking that eludes me (Reeeally, imagine that).

I’ll blame it on gender. Of course.

So when it comes to cutting back on my grocery bill, I gotta be able to put it on autopilot.

1. Get the Paper. Wednesday and Sunday. Ads and coupons. Our main paper is like 20 bucks for 6 months. You can make that back in the first week.

2. Get the Ads.Wal-Mart has ad matching. I go over the ads for all the grocery stores in the area. I make a list of the items that look like good deals (after doing this for a while you can get pretty quick at it … about 10 min. Truly). Make a list of the best deals, store, and price. Then you can find what you’re looking for when at the store as well as finding the ad for a particular item if/when they ask you about it.

3. Clip Coupons. Here’s the challenging part. Get over it! A GUY CAN CLIP COUPONS! But, here’s the trick: watch football (or some sport, any sport) while doing so. No wasting time. You can say, “C’mon babe, I’m making money watching football.” Uh-huh, feel free to use that one. And gimme a break, there’s replay. And, no, this isn’t a-with-your-buddies-while-slamming-Silver-Bullets event! Next thing, you’ve got a floor full of paper confetti and you think it’s a brilliant idea to play an impromptu game of scissor darts on your favorite poster. Dude … focus. This football watching compensatory strategy really helps to quell the whole well-developed female side from, well, getting too well-developed (obviously, any semi-mature man who uses the word “quell” definitely has a way-too-developed female side, so I’ll keep working on this one).

Another thing about coupons. Out of respect for Tim Ferris, just don’t clip out all the trash food coups because you think you’re gonna get some major savings. The only thing you’re saving is what done lops over your belt.

Oh CRAP! I almost forgot. IT’S SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!! And the game just started. Gotta GO!

Seriously. Saints at the Raiders …

… I’m back. Coups clipped and all.

And the Raiders got smacked by 20. Ouch. My ex’s favorite team. I mean, she’d be in the Black Hole if she were there, so she’s not gonna be happy about this one.

Oh, that’s another post too.

The takeaway: This whole deal takes about an extra hour a week. And I save about $300 or so a month over what I was doing blindly before. For those very few who may be worse off at math than I, that’s $75 an hour. Right? Where’s my calculator…?

Who is Innovative Savings?

Innovative Savings compensates for a couple of overbearing, overachieving and self-absorbed parents. He's attempting to find his own place in this world by making observations, providing suggestions, sharing life experience and saving stuff, mostly to prove himself worthy ... to his parents at least.

Good luck with that I.S.

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Innovative Savings compensates for a couple of overbearing, overachieving and self-absorbed parents. He tries to find his own place in this world by making observations, providing suggestions, sharing life experience, and proving himself worthy ... to his parents. Good luck I.S.

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